Lin Fan's Protection

Tong Tian's cold snort, imbued with supreme sword intent, swept through the entire intensive care unit like an invisible storm. Time seemed to freeze in that moment. The piercing alarms abruptly fell silent, the flashing red lights went out, and the garbled data on every precision instrument's screen instantly settled into stable, regular waveforms—steadier and stronger than before!

The corridor was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Ms. Wang forgot to cry. She stared dumbfounded at the intensive care unit's door, then at Lin Fan standing beside her, ramrod straight and stern-faced. Her mind went blank.

The doctors and nurses froze in place, their faces full of confusion and disbelief. They couldn't understand what the equipment failure in that instant—and the seemingly miraculous recovery that followed—meant.

Chen Jing and Dr. Su Qing, watching from the shadows, looked even more stricken. Chen Jing instinctively pressed a hand to the tiny earpiece in her ear. A panicked technician's voice came through from the surveillance van. "Team Leader! Just now... we detected an unidentifiable burst of mental energy at an extremely high intensity! The source... the source was Target Two (Tong Tian)! The energy level... far exceeded the instruments' limits! All the detectors overloaded instantly! This... this is power no human could possess!"

Dr. Su Qing clutched her notebook so tightly her knuckles turned white. She stared toward the intensive care unit, her eyes filled with shock and an almost feverish thirst for knowledge. This power acted directly on reality, affected electronic devices, and might even have turned the tide of life itself. It had completely overturned her understanding of psychology and human potential!

As for the one responsible for all this—Master Tongtian—after giving that cold snort and forcibly dispelling the residual Dao rhythm that had spilled from Nüwa as her power ran out of control and interfered with the laws of the present world, he paid no further attention to the commotion around him. He didn't even look inside the intensive care unit. He simply closed his eyes again, as if he had just done something trivial. Only the faint pallor of his face showed that this seemingly effortless intervention had not been without cost to his still-recovering source.

The silence lasted for about ten seconds.

"Beep... beep... beep..."

Inside the intensive care unit, the monitor's steady, strong heartbeat broke the silence.

Then the nurse standing closest to the room was the first to react. She cried out in disbelief, "The patient... the patient's vital signs... they're recovering! Her blood oxygen saturation is rising! Her heart rate is stable! Oh my God! How... how is this possible?!"

Her cry was like a spell breaking. The doctors at the door rushed toward the intensive care unit and peered inside through the glass. The frail little girl on the bed, whose face had been ashen, had regained a faint flush. Her tightly furrowed brow had relaxed, and her breathing was steady and unhurried. She looked as though she had simply fallen asleep, rather than been struggling on the brink of life and death!

"A miracle... this is a medical miracle!" The attending physician stared at the readings, which were nearing normal and even better than before. His voice trembled with excitement. He couldn't explain what he was seeing with any of the scientific theories available to him.

Ms. Wang shuddered when she heard this and rushed to the intensive care unit's door. Seeing her daughter's peaceful sleeping face, she burst into tears again—but this time, they were tears of joy and hope! She turned to Lin Fan and started to kneel. "Thank you! Thank you, Master! Thank you for saving my daughter!"

Lin Fan reacted quickly and hurried to support her. "Ms. Wang, please don't! It's enough that the child is all right!" He was also filled with shock and lingering fear. In that moment, he had truly felt the terrifying power of Goddess Nüwa and the danger of her losing control. He had also gained a deeper understanding of Senior Tong Tian's unfathomable strength—and how dependable he was in a crisis.

His gaze turned toward the intensive care unit, full of concern. How was Goddess Nüwa?

Just then, the door to the intensive care unit was gently pushed open from the inside. Nüwa appeared in the doorway. Her face was even paler than before, and her body swayed slightly. Her brow was heavy with exhaustion, as if she had just fought a great battle. Yet her clear eyes held a trace of relief and warmth.

"Your Majesty!" Lin Fan hurried forward, instinctively reaching out to support her.

Nüwa gave a slight wave to show she was all right. She looked at the overwhelmed Ms. Wang. Her voice was faint but still calm. "Your daughter... is no longer in immediate danger. I used her own life force as a seed, nourishing it with the Dao rhythm of creation to mend part of the defects in her source and awaken her potential. With proper care from now on... her lifespan should be extended, and her constitution should improve as well."

Her words were like the most authoritative verdict. Ms. Wang burst into tears of joy and thanked her again and again.

Nüwa gave a slight nod. Her gaze swept over the doctors and nurses standing there dumbfounded, and then Chen Jing and Su Qing, whose expressions kept shifting in the distance. Finally, her eyes settled on Lin Fan. She said softly, "Now that this matter is settled, we... should go back."

She needed to enter seclusion at once and recover the spiritual energy and Dao rhythm she had spent.

"All right, let's go back." Lin Fan nodded without hesitation and carefully offered Nüwa his arm. He could feel how weak she was.

He paid no further attention to the varied looks around them. Supporting Nüwa, he headed for the corridor exit. Tong Tian followed in silence. Wherever they passed, people instinctively parted to make way, their eyes filled with awe, curiosity, and an indescribable fear.

Chen Jing watched the three of them leave. Her lips moved, but in the end, she didn't try to stop them. She knew that what had happened today had completely exceeded her control. The man called Tong Tian could incapacitate electronic equipment in an instant and might even directly affect the state of a living person! And the woman called Nüwa seemed to possess some miraculous power that could cure terminal illnesses beyond the reach of modern medicine! The danger level and importance of these two needed to be reassessed immediately!

She pressed her communicator and said in a grave voice, "The targets have left the hospital. Initiate the highest-level tracking protocol and mobilize all available resources to analyze the nature and range of Target Two's (Tong Tian's) energy burst! Also, closely monitor Target Three's (Nüwa's) condition and her effect on the child's subsequent recovery! I want the most detailed assessment report!"

"Understood!"

On the way back to the rented apartment, the mood was somewhat heavy. Lin Fan drove the car—the used one he had bought with the money he'd made from stocks—and looked through the rearview mirror at Nüwa, meditating with her eyes closed in the back seat, and Tong Tian, whose face remained expressionless. His feelings were tangled.

What had happened today had been like a sudden storm. He had witnessed Goddess Nüwa's compassion and the wonders of her power of creation with his own eyes, and he had seen Senior Tong Tian's domineering, peerlessly powerful presence cow everyone into silence. It only strengthened his resolve to follow them, but he also felt the burden that came with it growing heavier and heavier.

The authorities were watching them like hawks, civilian forces were spying on them, and now saving a life had sparked the "miracle" effect... Their little "shelter" had become the eye of the storm.

He safely brought Nüwa and Tong Tian back to the rented apartment. Nüwa returned to her corner almost at once, sat cross-legged, and entered a deep meditative state. An exceedingly faint, life-filled Dao rhythm began to circulate around her, absorbing the thin energy in the air—or perhaps also that mysterious Innate Qi—to recover. The "breath soil" figurine on the windowsill seemed to resonate with her. Its peaceful aura grew more intense, enveloping her.

Tong Tian sat back down on his yoga mat. He appeared to be regulating his breathing, but Lin Fan could tell that most of his attention was focused on keeping watch. After what had happened at the hospital, he had clearly realized that this world had more "trouble" than he had expected, and that they needed to be more vigilant.

Lin Fan didn't disturb them. He quietly tidied the room, then sat on his bed and began practicing the Supreme Clarity Heart-Cleansing Mantra. He needed power. He needed to improve as quickly as possible. He couldn't just stand by helplessly like he had today, unable to do anything. He longed for the power to protect—to protect these two Sages who had changed his fate, and to protect the hard-won peace of this "home."

Over the next few days, the rented apartment seemed to return to the peace it had known at first, but beneath that calm, the undercurrents grew more turbulent.

Nüwa remained in a deep state of recovery, barely moving. The life-filled Dao rhythm she gave off waxed and waned, as though she were constantly adjusting and adapting. The clay figurines and sketches she had made by hand seemed to form some mysterious connection with her during this process, their Dao rhythm growing ever more restrained and profound.

Aside from the time he spent regulating his breathing and keeping watch, Tong Tian spent most of his time at the computer. He browsed information faster than ever, and his searches ranged more widely, especially into energy physics, human potential, and even classified files on supernatural events. With his abilities, breaking through ordinary network firewalls to obtain information was no difficult task. He was learning, analyzing, and trying to understand the rules of this world and the threats hidden within it more deeply.

Lin Fan trained even harder. With the peaceful Dao field formed by the "breath soil" and the many figurines to aid him, his progress clearly accelerated. He still couldn't actively draw upon Innate Qi, but he could remain in meditation longer and longer. His mind grew clearer, and his control over his own spirit became increasingly precise. He even began trying, while meditating, to sense and make contact with the "seed of sword intent" Tong Tian had planted in his mind. That seed was cold and sharp, filled with an aura that seemed to annihilate everything. With his current level of spiritual strength, each attempt was like touching a red-hot iron with his bare hands, bringing intense pain. Still, he gritted his teeth and persevered. He understood that to gain the power to protect, he had to endure suffering and trials beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

During that time, Ms. Wang called several times. Her voice was full of gratitude as she said that her daughter was out of danger and had been moved to a regular ward. All of her vital signs were steadily improving, and even the attending physician was amazed, calling it a medical miracle. Lin Fan was happy for her, but tactfully reminded her not to tell too many people about Goddess Nüwa, lest it cause unnecessary trouble. Ms. Wang readily agreed.

Zhou Wenyuan also sent a few text messages. His tone was even more respectful than before. He didn't mention buying the figurines at all, merely asking after Master Nüwa's well-being and saying that if they needed anything, they only had to ask. Lin Fan replied politely.

There was no news from Chen Jing, but Lin Fan knew this was only the calm before the storm. The sense of being watched from outside the window had grown stronger—and the surveillance was even more covert and technologically advanced.

However, the biggest change came from the mysterious old man.

On the third day after Nüwa had saved the child, Lin Fan made his usual trip to the hotel to bring the old man some food and living expenses. When he knocked, the same bewildered old man opened the door. But this time, Lin Fan keenly noticed that the old man's eyes seemed... to have the faintest, almost imperceptible hint of focus.

As Lin Fan set the food on the table and instinctively prepared to leave, the old man suddenly spoke. His voice was still hoarse, but seemed a little clearer than before.

"That... that power... creation... life..."

Lin Fan stopped abruptly and turned around, staring at the old man in shock. "Elder, what... what did you say?"

The old man didn't look at Lin Fan. His gaze seemed to pierce through the walls toward the rented apartment. A flicker of exceedingly complex emotions passed through his cloudy eyes: confusion, reminiscence, and even... excitement?

"Familiar... yet... unfamiliar..." the old man murmured haltingly. "The aura... of the Primordial Era... but... not the same... who...?"

The Primordial Era! He had mentioned it again!

Lin Fan's heart raced! This old man really was connected to the Primordial Era! What's more, he had sensed the life-giving Dao rhythm of creation that Goddess Nüwa had released while saving the child!

"Elder, what have you remembered? Do you know about the Primordial Era?" Lin Fan asked urgently.

But the old man seemed not to have heard him. Still lost in his own world, he muttered, "Protect... must protect... the key... where is it...?"

His words were jumbled, but "protect" and "the key" made Lin Fan's heart stir. What needed protecting? And what did the key refer to? Could he mean the three damaged artifacts the old man possessed?

Lin Fan tried to guide him. "Elder, is the key you mentioned one of those three things of yours? What are they for?"

At Lin Fan's words, the old man's body trembled slightly. He turned his head sharply and, for the first time, focused his gaze directly on Lin Fan's face! His eyes were still bewildered, but now they held a sharpness and scrutiny Lin Fan had never seen before!

He stared at Lin Fan for a long time, as if trying to see right through him. Then, slowly and with great difficulty, he shook his head. His voice was low and hoarse.

"No... not them... a person..."

A person?!

Lin Fan froze. The key... was a person? What did that mean?

He wanted to ask more, but the old man had already lowered his head again and returned to his dazed state. No matter how Lin Fan questioned him, he only shook his head and said nothing more.

Lin Fan left the hotel with a head full of questions and even greater shock. The old man's unusual behavior today was undoubtedly connected to Goddess Nüwa's use of her power of creation. It proved that the old man had an extraordinary ability to sense power on the level of the Primordial Era! And what secrets were hidden in his words about "protection" and "the key is a person"?

When he returned to the rented apartment, Lin Fan told Tong Tian about the old man's unusual reaction.

Tong Tian fell silent for a moment, then a look of understanding flashed through his eyes. "As expected. This old man is no ordinary remnant. His obsession runs deep and his memories are sealed because what he is 'protecting'—or the person he is 'protecting'—is of the utmost importance. Junior Sister Nüwa's Dao rhythm of creation contains the aura of the Primordial Era's source. It stirred his deepest spiritual sense. 'The key is a person'... Hmph. It seems the waters in this world run deeper than we expected. Perhaps this involves some... ancient scheme."

A scheme? Lin Fan felt a chill in his heart. Could it be that their arrival in this world hadn't been entirely accidental?

"Then what should we do now?" Lin Fan asked.

"Watch and wait, and strengthen ourselves," Tong Tian replied succinctly. "Once Junior Sister has recovered, she may be able to use the Dao rhythm of creation to proceed gradually and see if she can help him break through part of the seal. Until then, protecting him also means protecting the potential 'key.'"

Lin Fan nodded solemnly. He understood that the old man might be far more important than they had imagined.

He looked at Nüwa, still recovering in deep meditation, then at Tong Tian, whose presence had grown increasingly profound and cold. He also felt the faint but steadily strengthening spiritual power within himself, along with that resilient seed of sword intent. An unprecedented sense of responsibility welled up in him.

He had to protect this "home." Not just its physical safety, but also the hard-won peace and balance they had found.

He sat cross-legged and once more immersed himself in practicing the Supreme Clarity Heart-Cleansing Mantra, his mind firmer than ever.

However, he didn't know that as he devoted himself to cultivation, a more covert and dangerous plot targeting them—or rather, targeting Nüwa's ability to "bring the dead back to life"—was quietly unfolding in the darkness. The "miracle" at the hospital had stirred the ancient, greedy instincts of certain people hidden beneath the surface of the mundane world, who pursued immortality and power.

Lin Fan's path of protection was destined to be full of thorns.